Lady Gladiators capture region title, top seed

Exiting the court, the senior guard skipped from mid-court. On the bench, she bounced in her seat. Not even the weight of a collection of plaques and trophies could weight her down after the victory.

A region championship and MVP honors have that effect on a high school girl.

The Lady Gladiators wrapped up their second Region 8-AAAA title in three seasons with a 71-50 win over Madison County on Saturday. Clarke Central's last region championship came in the 2005-2006 season.

"I'm just so excited," Johnson said after the game. "I've been jumping around like a little kid."

Following the game, Johnson was named the region player of the year and the tournament's MVP. Clarke Central coach Carla Johnson was named region coach of the year.

But the two-level trophy that reads "Region 8-AAAA champion" was the award the Lady Gladiators were most proud of.

"When this team is on, they can be amazing," Carla Johnson said. "Now they are starting to realize it."

Clarke Central's realization process started on Jan. 4 after losing to Madison County 65-59.

The Lady Gladiators haven't lost since, adding a 72-63 vengeance win over the Lady Raiders on Jan. 29.

Unlike their last two games against Madison County, the Lady Gladiators left nothing to chance in the region title. Four Clarke Central players scored in double figures.

Senior Terra Branch led Clarke Central with 22 points and a career-high six steals.

Brittni Johnson and Aja Sorrells scored 15 points each, and Veronica Bolds added 13, going 4-of-4 from the field in the third quarter.

"That is just the best feeling as a coach, when everything is working," Carla Johnson said. "We need to be clicking on all cylinders like this heading into the state tournament."

Madison County will take the No. 2 seed into the state tournament and will face the No. 3 seed from Region 6-AAAA on Feb. 23.

The Lady Gladiators will play the No. 4 seed from Region 6-AAAA on Feb. 23. But the Clarke Central players and coaches used the rest of Saturday night to celebrate their most recent victory.

Clarke Central took a lead late in the first quarter that it never relinquished. A 22-point second quarter and 20-point third quarter made sure Madison County would not be able to sniff the lead.

"It's their quickness," Madison County coach Dan Lampe said. "You can't press because of Brittni. She is a one-person press blocker. They just make beautiful passes."

Madison County received the usual from its leading scorers, but did not get the dominating, all-around performances that Clarke Central received.

"Contain Courtney." her coach said with a quick correction. "You aren't going to stop Courtney."

Madison County never scored more than five points in a row without an answer from Clarke Central. In the second half, the Lady Gladiators went to work on Madison County with the press, forcing nine turnovers against only two for them.

Clarke Central had a 23-point lead by the middle of the third quarter.

"It was just like, all of the sudden, people were not getting in the right spots," Lampe said. "It was a little different than our last games."

Even the tournament's most valuable player was surprised at her team's margin of victory.

"I thought it was going to be another close one," Brittni Johnson said. "But that first game prepared us for the second one and I guess those two prepared us for this one."

As the Lady Raiders exited their locker room, the Lady Gladiators were still celebrating in their locker room, releasing sporadic cheers that could be heard down the hallway.

When the cheering stopped, Brittni Johnson came dancing out of the lockerroom to hug her grandmother and mother, who were equally excited.